“GUYANA has made what I would call a dramatic transformation since 1992…Guyana has gone from having effectively no democracy prior to the 1992 free and fair elections, to a system where you’ve had several electoral cycles that have been deemed free and fair by international and domestic observers.”This is the conviction held by the United State (U.S.) Chargé d’ Affaires to Guyana, Bryan Hunt, who, during an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle yesterday, said he welcomed President Donald Ramotar’s May 11 announcement as the day for holding General and Regional Elections.

Hunt was at the time weighing in on the current state of affairs in Guyana, taking into account the imminence of elections as announced by the Guyanese Head of State.

PNC DICTATORSHIP

He said that while there is yet work to be done, the Guyanese political leadership and public at large “must be congratulated for the tremendous transformation that I believe has happened from the days of the dictatorship to what is a democratic system.” The foregoing comment was in obvious reference to the Peoples National Congress (PNC) administration, which was at the helm of political power in Guyana for 28 consecutive years prior to 1992. According to the U.S. diplomat, Guyana has, since 1992, managed to move “from a state of effectively what was single-Party rule to a system in which you have a vigorous multi-Party debate.”

He also touched on the remarkable transition the nation has undergone over the years, “from a time where the system left the Parliament with very little say over policy, to one since 1992 to which there is vigorous Parliamentary debate.” And while on the subject of transition, Hunt was asked to weigh in on recent criticisms levelled against the President since the prorogation of Parliament, to the effect that Guyana has been under the rule of a dictator since November last.

His reaction was to dismiss the notion in its entirety, saying rather than a return to dictatorship, the political climate here since post-elections 1992 has always been regarded as a multi-party democracy. “The view from the U.S. government would be that Guyana has had, since 1992, a multi-party democracy,” Hunt said. As he went on to explain, under Guyana’s legislative construct, there are constitutional parameters under which the country and its leadership operate; and this is bolstered, he said, by the judicial system which has, in the past, ruled in favour of government and against it.

CAUTION Hunt did caution, however, that while there has been a dramatic turnaround for Guyana, in terms of its state of democracy, that transition was not complete; and that there are areas that the next administration will need to deal with, such as the holding of Local Government Elections. Commenting on the 10th Parliament, Hunt lamented what he termed the ‘gridlock’ between the major political parties on important national issues. This state of affairs, he said, has to move to a position where, while differences are made known, “ when Guyana is confronted with significant challenges, whether that is the need to pass anti-money laundering legislation; the need to move forward with hydroelectric development; parties can set aside those political differences and act in the national interest to move things forward.”

VISA REVOCATIONS Asked to weigh in on recent protests outside the U.S. Embassy here in Georgetown, whereby Alliance For Change (AFC) members have been demanding the revocation of the visas of Government Ministers, Hunt responded as follows: “The reality is [that] we are not considering, within the U.S. government, doing what the AFC has requested, which is the revocation of visas for senior Guyanese officials.” He went on to say that every political party has the right to make their views known; but the request is not under consideration. Noting that there are protocols dictating the issuance and revocations of visas, Hunt said: “That’s simply not how we conduct our visa policy; we have very clear immigration laws.” He said it is based on the set legislation that a determination is made on whether one is eligible for a visa or not.

(By Gary Eleazar)

http://guyanachronicle.com/us-...-and-fair-elections/

“GUYANA has made what I would call a dramatic transformation since 1992…Guyana has gone from having effectively no democracy prior to the 1992 free and fair elections, to a system where you’ve had several electoral cycles that have been deemed free and fair by international and domestic observers.”This is the conviction held by the United State (U.S.) Chargé d’ Affaires to Guyana, Bryan Hunt, who, during an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle yesterday, said he welcomed President Donald Ramotar’s May 11 announcement as the day for holding General and Regional Elections.

Hunt was at the time weighing in on the current state of affairs in Guyana, taking into account the imminence of elections as announced by the Guyanese Head of State.

PNC DICTATORSHIP

He said that while there is yet work to be done, the Guyanese political leadership and public at large “must be congratulated for the tremendous transformation that I believe has happened from the days of the dictatorship to what is a democratic system.” The foregoing comment was in obvious reference to the Peoples National Congress (PNC) administration, which was at the helm of political power in Guyana for 28 consecutive years prior to 1992. According to the U.S. diplomat, Guyana has, since 1992, managed to move “from a state of effectively what was single-Party rule to a system in which you have a vigorous multi-Party debate.”

He also touched on the remarkable transition the nation has undergone over the years, “from a time where the system left the Parliament with very little say over policy, to one since 1992 to which there is vigorous Parliamentary debate.” And while on the subject of transition, Hunt was asked to weigh in on recent criticisms levelled against the President since the prorogation of Parliament, to the effect that Guyana has been under the rule of a dictator since November last.

His reaction was to dismiss the notion in its entirety, saying rather than a return to dictatorship, the political climate here since post-elections 1992 has always been regarded as a multi-party democracy. “The view from the U.S. government would be that Guyana has had, since 1992, a multi-party democracy,” Hunt said. As he went on to explain, under Guyana’s legislative construct, there are constitutional parameters under which the country and its leadership operate; and this is bolstered, he said, by the judicial system which has, in the past, ruled in favour of government and against it.

CAUTION Hunt did caution, however, that while there has been a dramatic turnaround for Guyana, in terms of its state of democracy, that transition was not complete; and that there are areas that the next administration will need to deal with, such as the holding of Local Government Elections. Commenting on the 10th Parliament, Hunt lamented what he termed the ‘gridlock’ between the major political parties on important national issues. This state of affairs, he said, has to move to a position where, while differences are made known, “ when Guyana is confronted with significant challenges, whether that is the need to pass anti-money laundering legislation; the need to move forward with hydroelectric development; parties can set aside those political differences and act in the national interest to move things forward.”

VISA REVOCATIONS Asked to weigh in on recent protests outside the U.S. Embassy here in Georgetown, whereby Alliance For Change (AFC) members have been demanding the revocation of the visas of Government Ministers, Hunt responded as follows: “The reality is [that] we are not considering, within the U.S. government, doing what the AFC has requested, which is the revocation of visas for senior Guyanese officials.” He went on to say that every political party has the right to make their views known; but the request is not under consideration. Noting that there are protocols dictating the issuance and revocations of visas, Hunt said: “That’s simply not how we conduct our visa policy; we have very clear immigration laws.” He said it is based on the set legislation that a determination is made on whether one is eligible for a visa or not.

(By Gary Eleazar)

http://guyanachronicle.com/us-...-and-fair-elections/

“GUYANA has made what I would call a dramatic transformation since 1992…Guyana has gone from having effectively no democracy prior to the 1992 free and fair elections, to a system where you’ve had several electoral cycles that have been deemed free and fair by international and domestic observers.”This is the conviction held by the United State (U.S.) Chargé d’ Affaires to Guyana, Bryan Hunt, who, during an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle yesterday, said he welcomed President Donald Ramotar’s May 11 announcement as the day for holding General and Regional Elections.

Hunt was at the time weighing in on the current state of affairs in Guyana, taking into account the imminence of elections as announced by the Guyanese Head of State.

PNC DICTATORSHIP

He said that while there is yet work to be done, the Guyanese political leadership and public at large “must be congratulated for the tremendous transformation that I believe has happened from the days of the dictatorship to what is a democratic system.” The foregoing comment was in obvious reference to the Peoples National Congress (PNC) administration, which was at the helm of political power in Guyana for 28 consecutive years prior to 1992. According to the U.S. diplomat, Guyana has, since 1992, managed to move “from a state of effectively what was single-Party rule to a system in which you have a vigorous multi-Party debate.”

He also touched on the remarkable transition the nation has undergone over the years, “from a time where the system left the Parliament with very little say over policy, to one since 1992 to which there is vigorous Parliamentary debate.” And while on the subject of transition, Hunt was asked to weigh in on recent criticisms levelled against the President since the prorogation of Parliament, to the effect that Guyana has been under the rule of a dictator since November last.

His reaction was to dismiss the notion in its entirety, saying rather than a return to dictatorship, the political climate here since post-elections 1992 has always been regarded as a multi-party democracy. “The view from the U.S. government would be that Guyana has had, since 1992, a multi-party democracy,” Hunt said. As he went on to explain, under Guyana’s legislative construct, there are constitutional parameters under which the country and its leadership operate; and this is bolstered, he said, by the judicial system which has, in the past, ruled in favour of government and against it.

CAUTION Hunt did caution, however, that while there has been a dramatic turnaround for Guyana, in terms of its state of democracy, that transition was not complete; and that there are areas that the next administration will need to deal with, such as the holding of Local Government Elections. Commenting on the 10th Parliament, Hunt lamented what he termed the ‘gridlock’ between the major political parties on important national issues. This state of affairs, he said, has to move to a position where, while differences are made known, “ when Guyana is confronted with significant challenges, whether that is the need to pass anti-money laundering legislation; the need to move forward with hydroelectric development; parties can set aside those political differences and act in the national interest to move things forward.”

VISA REVOCATIONS Asked to weigh in on recent protests outside the U.S. Embassy here in Georgetown, whereby Alliance For Change (AFC) members have been demanding the revocation of the visas of Government Ministers, Hunt responded as follows: “The reality is [that] we are not considering, within the U.S. government, doing what the AFC has requested, which is the revocation of visas for senior Guyanese officials.” He went on to say that every political party has the right to make their views known; but the request is not under consideration. Noting that there are protocols dictating the issuance and revocations of visas, Hunt said: “That’s simply not how we conduct our visa policy; we have very clear immigration laws.” He said it is based on the set legislation that a determination is made on whether one is eligible for a visa or not.

(By Gary Eleazar)

http://guyanachronicle.com/us-...-and-fair-elections/